For the second consecutive week, Darius Slayton did not see it.
The plane flying overhead MetLife Stadium, that is.
Once again, what was up in the sky in New Jersey made news — and no, it was not a drone.
It was 90 minutes before Sunday’s game against the Ravens at MetLife Stadium when a small aircraft flew overhead toting this message for Giants co-owner John Mara: “Mr. Mara Enough. We Won’t Stop Until You Fire Everyone.”
The Giants ended up losing, 35-14.
Last week, prior to the 14-11 loss to the Saints, a plane flew across the sky above the stadium carrying a banner that read: “Mr. Mara Enough. PLZ Fix This Dumpster Fire.”
The timing of these flights coincides with the players going back inside the locker room after their first pre-game workout.
“I have not seen either plane, either this week or last week,” Slayton said. “I mean, people got time and money, that’s how they choose to spend it, it on them.”
This week’s overhead message came a few minutes after a first plane flew over the stadium, but this one did not contain a banner having anything to do with the Giants.
It was a political advertisement for a candidate for the New Jersey governor race.
“No comment,” outside linebacker Brian Burns said of this latest flight over the stadium. “Ain’t really got [s–t] to do with me. I’ve got bigger things to focus on, going against Lamar [Jackson].”
The individual, who claims to have hired the second plane, wanted to be known as “Miguel” when he appeared as a guest on the “Talkin’ Giants” podcast on Sunday.
He is staying in anonymity because he wants the focus to be on the frustration of Big Blue fans and the fact they “don’t want a repeat of [Dave] Gettleman 2.0.”
“The main message is we’re not close,” he said. “This regime has consistently underperformed. This roster has taken shape under their vision and we’ve gotten worse year over year. So we’ve lost faith in their ability to lead us.”
The Giants went into their Week 15 game with a record of 2-11 and on an eight-game losing streak, putting into question the job security of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.
The Giants went into the game as a 16.5-point underdog to the Ravens (8-5), the highest point spread in the NFL this season.
It was the largest point spread as an underdog for a home team in the league since at least 1966.
The individual said he first contacted the plane company shortly after the Giants’ bye week but had to adjust his message on what the aircraft was allowed to fly.
“I specifically wanted to say ‘Fire Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll’, but they couldn’t say that directly, so I had to make an adjustment.”
Daboll after the latest loss said “just control what we can control” when asked about the plane and its message.
He added it was not a distraction because “I didn’t know about it until you told me right now.
So, control what you can control. Get ready to go ahead and have a good week and whoever’s available, get them ready to play.’’
Slayton, the longest-tenured Giants player (he arrived in the 2019 NFL Draft) still in uniform and playing down the stretch of the season, was not bothered or moved by the message.
“I mean, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion,” Slayton said. “I understand the fans’ perspective, the frustration and all that type of thing. At the end of the day, I think we have a talented roster, I think they’ve built a talented roster here and we just have to do a couple things a little bit better to get it back going in the right direction.”
